Tuesday, 22 September 2015

‘Ego-Alowes’ Paths Of Thoughts Very Novel, Original’

By Anote Ajeluorou

Notable poet and polemicist Odia Ofeimun, columnists Otunba Tola Adeniyi and Henry Boyo,
newspaper manager and former Commissioner for Information in Anambra State, Mr.
Tony Onyima were among personalities who commended Dr. Jimanze Ego-Alowes, the
author of a new book Economists As
Assassins: The Nigerian Connection yesterday in Lagos.

The book deals with
philosophical thoughts on the issues of development and how wrongheaded models.
Ego-Alowes asserts that such models are fashioned after Harvard-trained
scholars who are not original thinkers of new canons, which are usually the
preferred in a country like Nigeria. Ultimately, the ill-digested models work
to harm the economy.

For Adeniyi, onetime
Daily Times ace writer and author of The Lunatic, Ego-Alowes’ Economists As Assassins “is not just
about philosophy, but about the philosophy of thinking; it’s not just about
economics, but the application of economics; it’s not just about politics, but
about the application of politics”.

He, however, was not
happy that the book was not launched with fanfare, as befitted the deep
thinking that Ego-Alowes has brought to bear on the concept of development. He
noted that the author’s efforts deserved to be duly rewarded in monetary terms.

According to him, ‘The
era of art for arts’ sake doesn’t quite fit in any more. The author does not
have a farm ort factory. His only factory is his brain and he must make money
from it. The book is just too great to be left unacknowledged publicly”.

Boyo described the
author as a courageous and creative man who doesn’t tell lies. “He’s a creative
Nigerian; his paths of thoughts are very novel; they are not what you’re used
to. My opinion in a lot of things gets shaken each time I read his books. I
have never seen anyone regard Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu as a thug before until I
read Ego-Alowes. The best are never celebrated in our clime. Certainly, in the
creative world, his is one of the top dozens. His thoughts are grounded in
historical process. He means that we should look at things in a different
perspective. Jimanze must love his country to have written so passionately and
engagingly about her. You are a great writer, one of the best in your
generation”.

Onyima also described Ego-Alowes as a “public thinker, but
who is very irreverent. I don’t know how he manages to stay aloof fof the
controversy he generates”.

Onyima recounted how
he was once asked to yank off his column in The
Sun, but he refused, and advised, “We need plurality and diversity of
views”.

He, however, said
the problem of writers was that they were delusional about their writing if
they expected a group of people somewhere would implement their ideas.
Nevertheless, he added, “We must commoditise our ideas and market them like
products. Perhaps. That is when writers might begin to be taken seriously. Economists As Assassins is a god
commodity from the title”.

Ofeimun charged that
everyone ought to be an economist so he does get hoodwinked. He also said those
managing Nigeria’s economy forgot what it meant to plan for the future and
restated that the country was one of the most savable countries he knew.
“Ego-Alowes takes the broad strokes and make us fill the gaps,” he noted.

Ego-Alowes praised Adeniyi
for his presence and for his love of things of the mind, adding, “a tradition
not readily available now”, and noted that he’d done a little book that would
“add an inch or more to what you already know”.

Chairman of event,
Mr. Nick Gbulie, who attended St. Augustine Grammar School with the author,
said Ego-Alowes has a tradition associated with his alma mater and has made
good on it.